This thesis investigates the effect of having a family history of exceptional longevity on the risk ofcontracting age-related diseases. It analyses electronic health records of the offspring (and...Show moreThis thesis investigates the effect of having a family history of exceptional longevity on the risk ofcontracting age-related diseases. It analyses electronic health records of the offspring (and theirpartners) of members of long-lived sibships that were collected as part of the Leiden LongevityStudy (LLS). Because participants can contract multiple age-related diseases, I work within arecurrent events framework; this is an adaption of the classical Survival Analysis framework thatallows for events to happen repeatedly to an individual. The data has a nested structure: eventshappen to individuals who are organised within families. As such, a random-effects survival modelwith two levels of correlation – termed the Nested Frailty model – is applied to the data, with anadditional element of event dependence. The thesis consists of three parts. In the first, I derivethe likelihood for a Nested Frailty model. Next, two simulation studies explore the possible pitfallsof ignoring the elements of nested frailties and event dependence when these are present in thedata, and demonstrate that it is key to include both elements in the model. Finally, the LLS datais analysed. I find that a family history of exceptional longevity is linked with a slower rate ofacquisition of age-related diseases.Show less
